


Skyline [Book 1]

by somewhereupthere



Series: Skyline Series [1]
Category: Waterparks (Band)
Genre: Brief self harm, Disappearance, Escape, Getting Together, M/M, Running Away, Suicidal Thoughts, Unrequited Love, minor homophobia, missing character, missing person
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-05-13
Updated: 2018-05-16
Packaged: 2019-05-06 09:19:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 4
Words: 3,439
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14638815
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/somewhereupthere/pseuds/somewhereupthere
Summary: When someone starts threatening Awsten,Geoff and Otto decide they must do whatever it takes to keep him safe.And they will do anything.





	1. Prologue

"i don't want to do it anymore; i don't want to hurt anyone"  
"i promise you, if there was another way - a better way - i would make it happen"   
stay calm.   
-  
One day, Otto and Geoff begin receiving threats, and photographs of their house begin to make their way inside. They decide the only way to protect themselves and Awsten is to give the person what they want: Otto.   
-  
But only for 20 days, right?


	2. Day 1 (December 3)

Geoff shot up from his sleep, hitting the shelf above his head. He groaned in pain and rubbed his palm against his face - feeling the sore spot on his forehead. With a huff, he fell back and his head hit the pillow, feeling too tired to stay up. Before he could fall back asleep, his phone buzzed and the screen lit up, giving him the chance to check the time. The reality hit him as he saw, and suddenly, sleep felt out of the question. Plan 'What-the-fuck-are-we-doing' was in motion.  
Geoff rubbed the sleep out of his eyes and pushed his hair back out of his face. He sat up and drew the curtain to his window open. He twisted back around, and jumped as he saw Awsten perched on the edge of the bed staring at him.

"What the hell are you doing, Awsten?" he grumbled, not happy with the situation. All he wanted to do was isolate himself and wait for the inevitable, but he knew he wasn't going to be able to.

"Waiting for my best friend to make me pancakes" Awsten replied, smiling up at his friend. Geoff internally groaned. He knew that Awsten's world's would soon be turned upside down and he would have to act as though he knew nothing. He had to make this time as special as he could.

Geoff swung his legs over the size of the bed and ushered Awsten out of his room, making sure the door was shut behind him. Once he heard Awsten walk away, he slid out of bed and searched around for the nearest tshirt and his sweatpants. Finding one of their old merch shirts on his dresser, he shoved it over his head and began walking towards the door.

The three had discovered Geoff being the best chef in the house the day they moved in. Geoff - being the oldest - had experience in cooking, especially from previous his job back in Houston, whereas the others failed upon attempt over attempt. They were all trying to learn how to cook, and do other things. After all, everything had changed.

It was the first night of living in the new house. Awsten couldn't sleep. The place was too strange and unfamiliar, the walls were bare, no posters or pictures covering them. And they certainly weren't blue like he was use to. Awsten's room consisted of a mattress on the floor, and a rug that lay near the empty wardrobe and full suitcases.  
This place wasn't home.  
Awsten groaned and checked the time. 2:43am. He mumbled in annoyance to himself before he stood up and wrapped his blanket around himself. His feet padded across the bare floor; the floorboards creaked underneath him as he neared the door of his room. It had his name messily sprawled over it as it was the first thing the boys did when they first arrived in the house: claim a room, and decorate their doors. It seemed juvenile when they really thought about it, but that was the fun of it.  
Awsten's room was the garage - a single floor. He walked through the empty soon-to-be main room and adjoined kitchen of the house. The only other two rooms on that floor was Geoff's temporary-room and their gaming room (he thought it should be a spare room, but Geoff and Otto had much protested). He approached the stairs and was already a few steps up when he looked into Geoff's open bedroom door. Geoff was laid under his Zelda blanket staring blankly at the ceiling as if he expected it to do something. Awsten stepped down from the first step and tapped his knuckles onto Geoff's door. Geoff's head shot up and turned to see a sheepish-looking Awsten stood there.

"Hey..." Awsten croaked, his voice sore from the lack of sleep. "Couldn't sleep either?"

Geoff shook his head, "I feel like the walls are trying to entice me... They're too bare"

Geoff motioned for Awsten to come over and he scooted over to the other side of his bed, and patted the space next to him. Awsten padded over and placed the blanket over both of them.

"Hello from the other side" Awsten said, making Geoff laugh quietly at the Adele reference. Awsten then frowned. He still felt empty. His best friend was right here laying beside him, but everything still felt bare and raw.

"It feels weird to be here... In London, so far away from our families" He whispered.

"hey... your family is right here. We are your family. Us three are the family. And families stay together... None of us are going anywhere, I promise, Aws" Geoff said, wrapping an arm around Awsten and pulling him in. Awsten shakily exhaled but just snuggled into Geoff.

The two awoke in the morning to the sound of the fire alarm going off, just like how they used to wake up in Houston on the days they stayed together.

"One god-damned day Lord I beg of you" Awsten grumbled. He opened his eyes and cowered at the light streaming in through Geoff's window. He turned to say good morning to Geoff but was greeted with an empty space. Awsten just groaned, sat up and stretched. He swung his legs over the side of the bed and proceeded to walk into the kitchen to see Otto hitting the stove with a cloth and Geoff stood at the side with his head in his hands.  
The three of them sat at the table; the burnt table cloth placed in the middle. Geoff sighed,

"Pancakes for breakfast then?" He asked, and began getting everything ready. The two boys sat in silence.

Awsten yawned and lifted his head from his arms.

"How exactly did you set a pancake on fire?" Awsten said, and rubbed his eyes, trying to wake himself more.

"It's an easy thing to do!" Otto exclaimed, trying to defend himself.

"No it isn't, boylord" Awsten said, patting Otto's head from across the table, and Geoff placed the pancakes in front of the boys .

"Yes it fu---" Otto was cut off by a Awsten throwing a piece of pancake at his face.

On Geoff's descent down the stairs, he heard a tapping on one of the doors. He turned the corner from the stair case, and saw Awsten tapping on Otto's door.

"Come on dude, its pancake day" Awsten whined at the door, "You love Geoff's pancakes!" Fear ran through Geoff's body. Time. He needed time. He walked up to Awsten and gently tugged his arm away from the door, while discretely making sure the door was still closed.

"He's fine, he's just tired. When he wants food, he'll come get food... okay?" Awsten huffed and walked away down the stairs, while Geoff stared at Otto's door.

"Twenty days, Otto, just twenty days I promise" He whispered to no one, and he felt a pang in his chest thinking about what he'd done.

"Gee!" Awsten yelled, and Geoff just sighed before walking down to the kitchen.


	3. Geoff's Diary Entry #1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Geoff begins to write letters.

Hi Otto,

It's been 7 hours since you left. We had pancakes and Awsten was banging on your door trying to wake you up. If only he knew. I told him to let you sleep, even though you aren't there. I wish you were there. 

I wish I wasn't lying to Awsten and saying you are here. 

I woke up to Awsten in my room this morning, I think the cold is getting to him again. Or, maybe he just knows something is going on. It's freezing over here, I hope it's nicer where you are. I hope you got to the place alright. I hope you're alive.

I hope you don't have dreads yet, either.

I'm sorry I got you into this mess,, well, I'm sorry your stupid ass insisted you should go instead of me . Maybe we should've been more careful with everything. Maybe if I had been, you wouldn't be in this situation right now.

Why did you want to run away. Why were you so determined on ruining your life, you could've let me go, we could've payed our way out of this!.. Okay we couldn't have, but we could've done this together. 

I can't believe we're doing this. We're so stupid, Otto. 

I miss you. I miss you so much, man.

But you got twenty days, okay? Only twenty days.

Oh, and I found this old picture of us, and thought it'd be nice to create a collection for you for when you return. It's a picture from our last night in Houston. 

\- Geoff


	4. Day 1 (December 3) - PART 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which it all goes wrong way too soon.

Geoff was sat playing a game on his phone while sat on the edge of Awsten's bed. Awsten was sat tapping away on his laptop, and Geoff assumed he was replying to some emails judging by the annoyed look on his face. All Time Low was playing quietly from the speaking next to Awsten's computer in the corner of the room, but Geoff was too engrossed in his game to notice which song was playing, although he could faintly hear Awsten whispering along.

Geoff's attention turned to Awsten for a second and nearly laughed at the frustrated look he held before turning back to his phone, where there was now a notification reminding him that a new video game was out today. Suddenly, he forgot about everything, and reached into his pocket to count his money and see if he had enough. He'd been waiting for this video game for months! 

"Hey, Geoff, isn't that new Wii game out today?" Awsten asked, glancing away from his laptop for a second, seeing Geoff's movement away from his phone.

"Yeah, I might go get it now before everywhere gets too busy? Is that cool?" Geoff got a nod as a response from Awsten, so he sat up and began to walk out of his friends room. He slipped on his denim jacket and walked out the door, locking it as he walked away. His feet hit the pavement as everything around him was silent, the only noise was the whistle of the wind.

-

"Otto?" Geoff asked, "We got another one". His voice was reduced to a whisper as he walked further into his friend's bedroom, the piece of paper clutched in his hand.

Otto reached his hands out to take the paper from Geoff's hands, and his eyes scanned the note, taking in every word. His body went rigid as he noticed the picture at the bottom

. "They got inside?" He whispered, looking up at his friend. Geoff nodded, sitting next to Otto. He held his head in his hands as he watched Otto re-read the note erratically over and over.

"What can we do? We can't just uproot again, and we can't tell Awsten" Geoff whispered, his eyes darting to the door making sure Awsten wouldn't magically appear and discover everything. 

"Geoff, this is the third one we've received... stop thinking that this is a long term thing. This might even be Awsten... Or Jawn, or Zakk playing a joke on us. There's no reason for us to move yet, it'll be fine. Nothing is going to happen to any of us." 

-

The boys lived in a small, old town, but not in the crowded town centre. It was the outskirts of the town, in a cul-de-sac next to a field. He walked through the muddy field, trying to avoid the sharp shards of glass hidden beneath the grass blades. He was gradually getting colder and colder as he walked in the morning dew on the grass. 

Beginning to make a run, he sped towards the moudling fence and grabbed onto it before jumping up and over and carefully landing on the other side. He dusted off his knees and further pulled his jacket around his body as he made his way through the dark ginnel, before coming out behind the bandstand in the centre of the town. 

Apart from the odd elderly person, the town was empty. Geoff turned and began walking right, down towards Oxfam and Game. He could smell the fish and chip stands and coffee hubs beginning to open as the smell drifted through town. The only sound, however, was now the noise of window shutters opening as the stores began to open up. 

As he opened the door to the video game store, he was instantly greeted with warm air and old punk music. He entered the store, and as he closed the door behind him he heard police sirens go down the main road past the river. He thought nothing of it and walked over to the sale section, humming along to the song which played throughout the shop. He picked three vintage games, and ones he was sure Awsten or Otto wouldn't want to steal. He let his eyes wander to the 'New' section, noting some names down ready for the upcoming birthdays, and grabbed the game he came for before walking to the cashier. He lingered by the vinyl section, enjoying the heat and the music, before finally deciding to leave.

Walking out of the shop, he could see people in the distance - more people than before - all walking in the same direction, some running and yelling. Some people were even jumping the fence that lead to the field outside their estate. He followed them cautiously and soon realised they were all headed in the direction of his block. He jumped the fence again and saw his neighbours all looking out of their doors, a few on the phone and a few speaking to police officers. Millions of thoughts ran through his mind in that moment of time. Thoughts of the discovery of Otto's empty room, but it was too soon. He pushed past the people surrounding and ran towards his block. As he neared, he could hear someone's muffled sobbing. 

This couldn't be happening. Not now, not yet. 

As he got closer and closer, he saw police cars and flashing lights stationary outside his house, and saw Awsten stood in the doorway, wearing one of Geoff's massive hoodies (presumably because it was on the floor of the living room and he was too lazy to go upstairs and find his own) and a pair of sweatpants. His hands were covered by his sleeves, and one hand was wiping his face. In one of the police officers hand was a photograph, and Geoff could only assume it was a photograph of Otto, and at that moment he knew exactly what had happened. Awsten had discovered Otto wasn't there. Geoff glanced at his watch, and his eyes bulged out of his head when he realised he'd been gone for over thirty minutes. He thought about just turning back around and keep walking as far as he could, but Awsten spotted him before he could even take another step. 

"Is Otto with you?" He nearly screamed at him as he slowly approached, and his heart dropped to the bottom of his stomach and he felt physical pain in his chest. Geoff just shook his head and pretended to look confused, "He's not here. And his window is open. He left his phone, wallet... everything. He's gone"

Another tear ran down Awsten's face, and he hid his face in his sleeves, while Geoff felt his heart slowly crack into even more pieces.

,

Afterwards, the 2 boys and a police officer were sat inside the house, mugs in their hands, and the fire alight in front of them, in the main room. The officer was questioning the boys about the last time they spoke to Otto. 

Geoff was panicking on the inside. He was suppose to at least have another day before Awsten discovered Otto's absence, and he was suppose to be there when it happened. If he hadn't had gone to get a video game, maybe he could have prevented this from happening. 

Awsten shrugged his shoulders weakly at most of the answers. It was almost as if he refused to accept that this was happening at all. He looked the most pained. His eyes held a world of horror. His expression however was blank, the only movement was from his glazed eyes and trembling lip. Geoff wasn't sure what had happened had settled in yet.

"Thank you, Mr. Wigington" The officer said sharply, snapping Awsten out of his daydream. "Now Mr Knight... Did anything occur in the week leading up to Mr Wood's disappearance between the two of you?" 

Awsten's eyes were wide as he opened his mouth to speak, and Geoff's heart began to pound at the thought of what the officer was insinuating. If Geoff thought he regretted this plan before, he definitely did now. He thought they were protecting Awsten by doing this. 

"W-w-well last night... We had an argument a few days ago, but it wasn't anything big. And we had an argument last night" Geoff remembered hearing the two argue last night. Otto had snapped a string on Awsten's guitar while playing, and Awsten had snapped at him complaining that the strings were new and expensive.

Geoff's knuckles turned white from gripping Awsten's hand so hard. He flinched in pain and tried to retract his arm, but to no avail. Geoff was warning Awsten to shut up. This already looked bad, but Awsten couldn't control his speech when he got nervous.

"Can you tell me what the argument was about?" The officer asked, writing something down on her notepad. Geoff tried to look, but all he got was a glare from the officer, and he quickly lent back.

"He broke something of mine, it wasn't important but it was late at night and I guess I was really tired and I got really mad with him and yelled at him but--" He stopped speaking when he felt Geoff dig his nails into his arm.

"Mr Knight, at a later date we are going to bring you down to the station for further questioning. There's nothing to worry about right now, but we'd like to investigate this further." Was all the officer spoke before standing up.

Geoff's heart plummeted as he saw Awsten's eyes fill with tears. He tightened his grip on his arm so much he could feel Awsten flinch. Awsten was now under suspicion for a crime that was never even committed. Geoff ran a hand through his hair. His face was showing an emotion he couldn't detect. 

The officer walked towards the boys, "Questioning will continue soon, as for now, we are going to search this and the surrounding towns for your friend. Thank you for your time" She said as she exited. 

When the door closed, the room remained silent, the news settling into the air. Awsten gripped onto Geoff's shirt and began to cry. The severity of the situation began to settle on them all. Otto was gone, and Geoff's heart was beating for the both of them. 

"I need a vodka" Awsten groaned quietly, getting up from where he was sat. Geoff thought he looked like a little bambi with his legs wobbling from the weakness. "Aws, you don't drink" Geoff said

"Well then I suppose a coffee will do" Awsten mocked in a sarcastic tone as he walked into the kitchen, the sound of the kettle boiling soon following.

\- They had both migrated into their own rooms that night, but neither of them had any intent to sleep. Awsten spent the night listening to old CD's, falling through scrapbooks, and reliving old memories. Geoff had resided to Otto's room, his pillow carrying the scent of his after shave and shampoo. He secretly hoped Otto would be like Peter Pan and come up to the window, and Geoff would be Wendy, and they could just fly away together. Leave all the problems behind.

He had no idea where Otto would be right now, and oh how did he wish he could tell Awsten what was going on. But there was a noose around his neck and someone else was holding it up high. If he even thought about opening his mouth, Otto's death would be on his head. Although, it was better than it being on Awsten's. 


End file.
